Planet Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun and is the largest planet in our solar system. Jupiter and its 63 satellites make up what is known as the Jovian system.
Facts and Figures:
Jupiter has a quite large diameter measuring 142,800km (88,736 miles)
It has amass of 1898 130 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 kilograms which is 317.828 x the Earth's mass.
Jupiter orbits around the sun with at a distance of 741-817 million kilometres (460-508 million miles) away.
Jupiter's minimum distance away from Earth is 588 million kilometres (365 million miles). This big red planet takes 9.92456 hours to rotate on its axis making the days very short compared to Earth's.
Jupiter has a rotational period of 11.862615 Earth Years.
This planet has a high surface gravity of 23.12m/s^2 which is 2.64 x Earth's surface gravity. The Great Red Spot is roughly 40,000km (24,860 miles) across.
It has amass of 1898 130 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 kilograms which is 317.828 x the Earth's mass.
Jupiter orbits around the sun with at a distance of 741-817 million kilometres (460-508 million miles) away.
Jupiter's minimum distance away from Earth is 588 million kilometres (365 million miles). This big red planet takes 9.92456 hours to rotate on its axis making the days very short compared to Earth's.
Jupiter has a rotational period of 11.862615 Earth Years.
This planet has a high surface gravity of 23.12m/s^2 which is 2.64 x Earth's surface gravity. The Great Red Spot is roughly 40,000km (24,860 miles) across.
Mythology/Astrology:
The name Jupiter comes from Roman Mythology where he is the King of the Gods. Jupiter is also commonly referred to by some as the planet of royalty, culture and philosophy. Jupiter is also known as Zeus in Greek Mythology where he is the god of thunder and lightning.
History of Discovery:
An italian scientist by the name of Galileo Galilei was the first person to look at Jupiter through a telescope. He was also the man who discovered Jupiter's four largest satellites (moons) which are now part of the Galilean Group in honour of Galileo Galilei, these moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. In 1664 Robert Hooke discovered the Great Red Spot on Jupiter's surface. The United States of America have sent six space probes out to Jupiter over the years, they were; Pioneer 10 (1973), Pioneer 11 (1974), Voyager 1 (1979), Voyager 2 (1979), Ulysses (1992) and Galileo (1995).
Features:
Jupiter has many distinguishing features that tell it apart from any other planets in our Solar System - the first and most obvious is it's size. Jupiter has a wonderful blend of reds, browns, oranges and yellows that gives it a different look from the other planets. Jupiter also has a very unique feature called the Great Red Spot which can be seen in most photographs of this planet. The planet has three very thin and almost unnoticeable rings around it. Jupiter has sixty-four satellites in total with thirty-nine of them being moons.